Rock-A-Thon!!!

Stone House Merchant will be at the Tri-State Gem and Mineral Society's annual Rock-A-Thon at Joplin Memorial Hall this weekend. It's always a blast! There are a few people, like us, that bring beads and jewelry. There are tons of rocks, both finished and rough. There are some that have the more precious gems and fancier jewelry. They have geode cutting and lots of other fun things planned! For more info, such as times and things like that, go here.
You should definitely come by, say hi, and take a look at all the other great stuff they have there! We'd love to see you there!!!

Slowly, But Surely

This summer has been so busy. Between the new baby, our church, Pat's job and medical problems, there hasn't been a whole lot of time to get things organized. But we're getting there, slowly, but surely. We hope to, barring any unforseen circumstances, have the shop re-opened by the end of September. Thank you for your patience. I will keep you updated.

Good Afternoon Beaders!

Well, now that we only have one more month of spring left, it's finally feeling like spring. And in honor of the nice weather, (or anything else you'd like to celebrate) we have a special going on. We have just got in some bead chip and nugget strands. Mostly stone beads. $1 a strand! Come in and have a look! We also got our czech bead dig box going. At $3.99 for a filled 2"x2" bag or $0.15 a gram, they're a great deal. And so much fun to dig through!
We also have our new sterling stuff in. Mostly charms. Crosses, swords, faeries, claddaugh, stars of David, tiny hearts, keys and peace signs. I love the shine of sterling silver. I'm thinking of making myself a charm bracelet.
Well, that's all for now. Take care!

What's new?

Well, we survived the storm! Although there is alot of damage around here. People are getting their power on bit by bit. We got ours back on Saturday morning, thank the Lord! You never realize how much you take electricity for granted until you lose it.
We have finally got the store in order. There's still some more to bring in. But, for the most part, we've got everything set up. There is now a basket of fimo beads to dig through. And we're going to be adding a czech bead dig box as soon as we get them in. I've always loved digging through loose beads. There's something about the cool glass on your fingers that is so relaxing. We've also ordered some more sterling silver charms and findings. They should be in by Saturday. Of course, we always have new and beautiful stone beads to look through.
We're getting ready to put together a couple of beading classes We're very excited about that! The first class will most likely be on beading basics, making a bracelet or maybe a necklace. My husband, Patrick, will most likely be teaching those classes as I am still learning alot myself. Hopefully he will be teaching some seed bead classes soon, too. He does great work with seed beads! We have some of his work displayed in the shop right now. For inspiration or purchase!
I hope to get our etsy shop back up and running as soon as I can get my camera working.
Also, I'm starting an email mailing list. If you would like to be included in that, email me at stonehousemerchant@yahoo.com, and I will get you added!
I hope you all have a great day!

NOW OPEN!!!

We have officially opened our bead shop! Well, it opened about a month ago, I'm just a tad bit slow. We're only open Mondays, Saturdays and some Sunday afternoons. We'd love to be open full time. But until it does well enough that Patrick can quit his day job, that just isn't in the cards. But that is our goal. We've always wanted a shop. Ever since we've been married.
The bead shop is located inside a vegetarian restaurant called Isadora's Wonderful Things. (I'm enjoying some AMAZING beans and rice right now!) But Wonderful Things actually started out as a bead shop in the owner, Sandy's back yard. That's where we discovered them. We knew nothing about beads at the time, but they had some pretty jewelry. Then, in 2001, they moved to a larger shop on Main Street and started giving beading classes. And that's where we fell in love with beads. Patrick is actually better at it than me, but I do love making pretty things. Shortly after, Sandy's daughter Bethany opened up a coffee bar inside. I was honored to be her first barista. (besides Bethany herself) The coffee bar eventually expanded into a restaurant. Then, for health reasons, Bethany became a vegetarian, and so did her restaurant. Sandy retired and Bethany took over the bead shop. But with business picking up so well at the restaurant, Bethany and her husband Michael, didn't have time to keep both sides of the business running. And that's where we came in. They asked us if we would be interested taking over the shop. Of course we would! So after some figuring and babysitter arrangements, we decide it was something we could handle. And it is so much fun! Doing something we love to do. That's the dream isn't it?
Well, that's our story. Come back by soon and I'll update you on some of the new stock we're getting in and other things that we've got going on. Take care!